An Ideal of Hope
by Fraulein Lissy
Summary: AU. When the Empire comes to Earth, it changes the lives of many and destroys every freedom that we had. But we will not give in. We will not give up. Even if one of us learns they are one of them and must leave the planet that we love, they still will maintain an ideal of hope. For that is the most important feeling, Hope. Rated T for warfare only.
1. Arrival to Earth

**This disclaimer applies to the entire story: **_**Star Wars**_** belongs to Disney and anything else recognizable belongs to their respective owners. For instance, any reference to Iron Man will not be particularly disclaimed, but it is implied through this disclaimer that it belongs to Marvel. Also, the Focus belongs to Toyota. Thank you for your understanding.**

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Prologue

_ A day that it all began was… quiet. I know that is the cliché of cliché's but it was a typical, quiet, hot, sticky summer day in Maycomb. A kind of day that everyone in Alabama knew as a day that you retreated inside, turned up the air, and made sweet tea. At school (I was only fifteen then), the air-conditioners' were humming up a storm, a hive of sluggish bees stupefied by the heat. Even for a girl born and raised in the South, walking outside was like stepping into an oven and then wrapping a blanket around your face. This is a common aliment of people new to this area, but even 110 degrees Fahrenheit and 76% humidity is difficult for even the hardiest. I suppose if the following events never occurred, all the day would be remembered for was the record temperatures and the amazing fact that there were no tornados at all. But overall it was a normal day until they came…_

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Chapter One

Arrival To Earth

"Alana, where and when was the Battle of Bunker Hill fought?" A tall, dark man tapped a pointer against a chalkboard, a wide grin stretched across his face.

A girl shifted in her seat before answering confidently, "The battle was fought on June 17th, 1775 on and around Breed's Hill, which is next to Bunker Hill. If possible, Mr. Grant's face stretched even wider. "Correct, now who can tell me…"

With her teacher's voice tuned out, Alana turned her face toward the window and watched what little life there was go by. A few cars, a moving truck, and a few people on foot that looked torn between moving as fast as they could to get out of the heat or moving slowly to keep from becoming hotter. Alana wasn't a bad student, in fact she mostly received A's, the problem was that she had sat in on this class as an AP last year, which she wouldn't have done if she had known that it would be mandatory to take the class the next year. So, she half listened to Mr. Grant just in case he gave out some new information, but mostly it was just a rehashed version of last year's class. Tucking a strand of what Ms. Clark, the hairdresser, called mahogany hair behind her ear, she glanced at the clock just as it rang. She strode up to the desk to receive her homework and to thank her teacher before walking from the room. If this was what the first day of high school was like, Alana didn't know how she could survive the torture.

Squinting her clear blue eyes against the shimmer of the heat, Alana quickly ran out of the building and slid into the front passenger seat of Mrs. Andrews', her foster-mother, car. The gray-haired woman smiled, "How was it, Alana?"

The girl allowed herself a smile. "Fine, ma'am. It's bit boring, but I'll get used to it." She shifted her backpack from her lap to the floor.

The woman chuckled as she pulled out onto the highway that passed the school. "If I remember my first day of high school correctly, it was anything but boring." She leant over and patted Alana's knee. "It will get easier."

Alana grinned. "It's a bit too easy already. I guess I'm kind of spoiled by the last home."

Letting out a bark of laughter, Mrs. Andrews replied, "I guess home-schooling could be considered that. You were definably a special case," she joked.

Alana giggled. "I know. I know I've said this a thousand times, but thank you for everything."

"I know dear, we may not have the same beliefs but I knew that I could help you make the transition. Now, do you have everything?"

Leaning over and reaching under the seat, Alana pulled out a small cloth bag and peeked inside. She nodded, sitting up and pulling it up and setting it on her lap.

"Good. Now have fun and try to make some friends, okay sweetie?" requested the woman as they pulled into a parking lot.

"I'll try," smiled Alana as she stepped from the sedan, "bye!"

The Toyota pulled away and Alana raced across the lot and into the cool air-conditioned building. She had been here once before and head straight for the changing rooms where she pulled on her tights, a plain, short-sleeved black leotard, and swept her hair up into a simple, secure braided bun before entering the studio. A giggling group of girls sat stretching and warming up. One looked up and spotted her. "Alana, right? Come over and join us. Mrs. Childs will be here in a few minutes."

Alana made her way over to the blonde's side and dropped to the floor, mimicking the other girl as they both stretched their hamstrings. The other girl stopped and held out her hand. "My name's Mary."

Alana shook her hand before transitioning into a quad and hip opener stretch. "Nice to meet you." The girls continued to stretch in companionable silence until they both finished with splits just before the instructor stepped into the room. Jumping up, the girls raced over to the bar and curtsied, greeting, "Good Afternoon, Mrs. Childs!"

"Good Afternoon! Now get your shoes on and we will warm up. Did everyone stretch?"

"Yes!"

"Good. Let's start with plié releves. Grace, try to not roll onto the box quite yet and…"

Alana went through the steps, twirled, and just de-stressed. Classical Ballet was her escape from everything that went on in her life. It was never painful for her to dance en pointe. She wasn't a perfect dancer, Mrs. Childs must have corrected more than any of the other students, but even if she didn't wear pads, it just was like wearing normal shoes. She didn't get corns or blisters either, let alone lose a toenail. So ballet was the perfect relaxing escape.

Of course, all good things must come to an end and an hour and a half later, Alana found herself in the changing room pulling on her dress and sandals again. As she walked out of her cubicle, Mary stuck her head into the room and handed her number and email to her. "I've got to go, but email me and we'll get to know each other better, sound good?"

Alana laughed happily. "Absolutely!"

The girls ran through the still muggy afternoon and to their cars. As she slipped into the Focus, Alana announced, "I made a friend!"

The woman laughed, "Good job! What's her name?"

"Mary," answered the girl, buckling up, "We're going to chat later today by email or something like that."

"Good, now…" Her phone interrupted her. She pushed a button and asked, "Hello?"

A slightly panicked voice asked, "Jane, where are you?"

Mrs. Andrews frowned. "I just left Alana's ballet class, Chris. What's wrong?"

An explosion was heard in the background, before someone was heard cursing. "Go home, but don't expect me back tomorrow. We're under attack."

"Chris, you're in D.C.! What do you mean?!"

"There are extraterrestrials firing on us from these triangular ships. The word is," another explosion a little farther away, "The word is that the President was somehow able to talk to them, but all they wanted was our unconditional surrender, the whole Earth's surrender. The only good thing about this is that they appeared to be at least mostly human except for their commander who looks like a huge black robot." Another explosion much closer, "I've got to go, but if I don't see you again, know that I love both of you."

"I love you too, Chris."

"Love you and I'll be praying, Colonel!"

The phone hung up and Alana closed her eyes in a quick prayer before squeezing Mrs. Andrews's hand. "I'm sure he'll be fine!"

The woman smiled. "You're right. He'll be just fine. Everything will be just fine."

Far above the surface, a large, dark armored man loomed over his bridge, his breaths loud and raspy like a respirator. No one would stand in his path. His forces have begun their arrival to earth.

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**Hello Everybody!**

**I decided to post another 'write the chapter – post it' story while I work on my Avenger's story. I have lost all inspiration with **_**Angels**_** at the moment, so it's on hiatus but I will complete it… sometime. **

**Avid fic readers might recall seeing two fics that I have read, one that is still on going and the other I can't recall the name. One is the epic (and I mean as in the **_**Iliad) Tarkin's Fist **_**and the other is about Luke going to the dark side and becoming part of the Palpatine Dynasty, an actual one as he is Luke's grandfather. Both fics came to mind when I thought of this, but I just wanted to mention that this story and theirs have the following in common. The Empire is attacking Earth and it will be a bit drawn out, maybe, but Darth Vader is in charge and is in the right time too. Palpatine is Vader/Anakin's father and is a bit less… I don't know evil, cruel? That is the extent of it and I am not stealing their ideas, but I did read those fics, so I wanted all my cards on the table. Both fics are extremely good, so go and read them! **

**Also, there is a very famous book that I referenced in the prologue. Can you find it?**

**Finally, the chapter name came from the **_**Transformer**_**'s song by the same name and is the backround for the written trailer I wrote. Would you people like to see in the notes or my profile? And the story name is what I consider the theme song of this story and it is from **_**Man of Steel**_**.**

**I apologize for the long AN!**

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**Please Review! It makes me feel like updating faster and you may be able to affect the course of the story! Do you want to see the trailer? What do you think of my disclaimer?**


	2. In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated

**Hello Everybody!**

**Now, don't expect me to always update this fast. I have school coming out of my ears! This story will progress pretty slowly. There will be a surprise about Alana. Can you guess it? Also, the chapter title comes from one of the more famous modern ballets, which I am not a fan of, but it fit the chapter. Also if you haven't heard the song, check it out! Also, do you want to see the 'trailer' here or in my profile?**

**Enjoy!**

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**Lady Arwen Prime:**** Thank you! I think you will like this chapter then.**

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Chapter Two

In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated

Alana snuggled herself into a corner of the couch beside Mrs. Andrews, knees to her chin and wide eyes as she watched the news reports on the television.

_"Maria, where are you? What is going on?"_

_ "Hello David. I am just outside of D.C in Arlington Cemetery and as you can see behind me, the Capitol is decimated. For five hours straight, the unknown enemy has pounded it with some kind of advanced laser. It has stopped for now, but no one knows for how long it will last."_

_ "Is there any word on the President or Congress? Is there any idea of the death toll yet?"_

_ "We have been informed that the President, the Vice-President, and their families are safe in an undisclosed location, but many congressmen and women were at their D.C. offices at the time of the attack and most if not all of those are believed dead. Rescue crews are dispersing through the city in an attempt to find any survivors, but the death toll is believed to be in the hundreds of thousands."_

_ "One last question, Maria. How has the military responded to this?"_

_ "Since we are not sure of the extent of the enemy's technology, most of the details are being withheld, but we do know that the National Guard and the Reserves have been mobilized and that the Chiefs of Staff, who survived the attack, are meeting, again, in an undisclosed location to put together a plan of action. This is Maria Santos reporting for CNN. Back to you David."_

_ "Thank you Maria. The scenes that you just saw are being repeated in all the major cities around the world…"_

Mrs. Andrews had slipped from the room in the middle of the report to again attempt to contact her husband. When she came back, Alana could see that she was not successful.

Alana squeezed her hand. "Maybe his battery ran out," she encouraged, "or he lost it and it was destroyed." The television continued to drone on until Alana had enough and switched it off. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was pretty late. She gave Mrs. Andrews a hug. "I'm going to bed. Will you be okay?"

The woman hugged her back. "Yes, thank you Alana. I don't know what I would have done without you. Go to bed, you have school tomorrow."

* * *

_Beep-Beep-Beep-Beep-Click._ Alana stretched before slipping out of bed and into her pointe shoes. She made a habit every morning of making up her own choreography to a random song. She did a few plies, releves, and stretches to warm up before hitting play. The upbeat tune of _Life is a Highway_ from _Cars_ by Rascal Flats came on.

_Life's like a road that you travel on,_

_There's one day here and the next day gone,_

_Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand,_

_Sometimes you turn your back to the wind._

_There's a world outside every darkened door,_

_Where blues won't haunt you anymore,_

_Where the brave are free and lovers soar,_

_Come ride with me to the distant shore._

_We won't hesitate,_

_To break down the garden gate,_

_There's not much time left today!_

_Life is a highway,_

_I wanna ride it all night long,_

_If you're going my way,_

_I wanna drive it all night long._

_Through all these cities and all these towns,_

_It's in my blood and it's all around,_

_I love you now like I loved you then,_

_This is the road and these are the hands,_

_From Mozambique to those Memphis nights,_

_The Khyber Pass to Vancouver's lights._

_Knock me down, and back up again,_

_You're in my blood,_

_I'm not a lonely man._

_There's no load I can't hold_

_Road so rough, this I know,_

_I'll be there when the light comes in,_

_Just tell 'em we're survivors!..._

Alana spun, twirled, and did many an arabesque until the song was over. It was always so surprising to her how the songs would often reflect what was going on in her life, whether by the lyrics or the tone. Hearing a tap on her door to see Mrs. Andrews standing at the door with a smile on her face. "You know that watching you do that makes my day." Alana laughed before shouting down the hall after her, "You're welcome, I'm going to get ready now!"

* * *

She glanced her reflection in the mirror before leaving the room. The weather was still muggy, so a light, feminine pale yellow t-shirt and khaki, knee-length linen skirt were her clothes of choice and her long hair was pulled into two braids that wrapped around the back of her head. Alana grabbed her backpack and skipped down the stairs before continuing into the kitchen.

"Today's menu is fried eggs, bacon, and sweet tea. How are you feeling this fine, hot, sticky morning?" Mrs. Andrews appeared cheery, but Alana could see the worry and pain behind her eyes.

"Fine, and you?" asked Alana.

The woman's smile faded. "As well as could be expected under the circumstances. Thank you."

Alana gave a firm hug to her before digging in to the delicious food that Mrs. Andrews had prepared for her. "So, I've decided to take a fresh look at high school and act like I've never learned any of the stuff. I'll try to be a bit more like me and see what happens. What do you think?"

Grabbing her plate and sitting across from Alana, Mrs. Andrews grinned. "Sounds good to me."

Flipping to the first bookmark in her bible, Alana read from Samuel and Corinthians while she ate, taking in the words as readily as the food on her plate. Soon, she finished both, gave Mrs. Andrews a final hug and rushed out the door, grabbing her backpack and slipping on her sandals, sunglasses, and hat as she went.

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Flying off the wraparound porch, Alana raced to the bus stop and joined the other children in line. "Did you see those lasers?" "They are not peaceful." "Will they take our brains?!" She inwardly shook her head at it all, but her worry about her foster father came back in full force. She forced herself to stop adjusting her skirt and to not start adjusting anything else. The bus thankfully arrived only a few moments later and the group poured onto it. "Good Morning!" piped Alana to the bus driver. He smiled at her and replied, "Good Mornin'."

She walked down the aisle but then at the back a girl patted the seat next to her. Alana shyly smiled and sat next to her.

"Name's Cathy. You?"

Alana laughed. "Alana."

Cathy flicked her strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder. "Did you say A-Lana or Al-Ana?"

She chuckled. "Al-Ana."

She nodded. "Cool. Who is your favorite in Randoom?"

Alana tipped her head quizzically. "What?"

"You haven't heard of it? It's like, the coolest rock band and the boys are so cute!" exclaimed Cathy.

Blushing, Alana replied, "That would explain it. I'm not into that sort of music. I'm kind of old-fashioned. I like classical and hymns more than rock or pop."

Cathy gave her a good hard look. "You kind of look like Keira Knightley, you know."

"I do? She played in a few movies that I like, but I never thought that," pondered Alana

"It's your nose and eyes, I think, but yours are blue. And your body is..."

Alana looked down. "I'm a ballet dancer."

"That's it!" she pronounced, "Do you dance on your toes?"

"Yes, I do pointe. It doesn't hurt me at all, which is a bit weird."

"Really? That is weird," she mused. "Did you the news last night?"

Alana stared out the other window. "Yes, my foster-father is in D.C. We don't know if he made it yet."

Putting her arm around Alana, Cathy gave her a hug. "I'm sorry. I'm sure he's just fine."

She gave a soft smile. "Yeah. His wife is taking pretty hard. I don't think she thinks he's alive."

"Ouch. So, you're foster?"

"Always have been. The first family almost adopted me when I was three, but one day they just backed out and ended their care early. I still don't know why they did that."

Cathy winced. "Again, ouch. I guess it was like having your parents abandon you."

Alana shrugged. "I suppose, but I was found on the street, so I was abandoned already."

"You seem so…"

"Nonchalant? I don't know why my parents did it, but the last thing I'll allow myself to be is bitter about it. That's going to get me no where."

"Yeah, that's the word. And I suppose you're right. Annd here we are!"

The two girls stepped off the bus and made their way through the masses of other children making their way into the school.

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**Again, please review. It makes me want to write and every review helps!**


	3. One Last Time

**Hello Everybody!**

**Two updates in one day! Don't get too used to this! This chapter is a tiny bit graphic and heartbreaking, so please be advised. Also, do you want the trailer of sorts here or in my profile?**

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter Three

One Last Time

_ Over the next week, I learned to enjoy high school and I made a few new friends. Apparently, I was very pretty, so a few boys asked me out. I turned them down. I wasn't interested in that. My friendships with Mary and Cathy blossomed and unbelievably, this trio was best friends by day four. Cathy started going to the ballet studio and since she had danced before, Mrs. Childs let her join us, minus the pointe shoes for the time being. Mary went to the military high school at first and lived a few miles away, which was the only reason why we didn't practically spend all day with each other. I suppose this all sounds rather unbelievable, but with what was occurring all around us made us bond very fast. After the major cities and capitols, the enemy attacked military bases including the one where my foster-father worked only ten miles away. They attacked at night on day two and it was awing to see streams of red light pouring down on the base and the explosions were deafening. The Chiefs of Staff sent a nuke into space on day five, but all that accomplished was a mass EMP over most of Earth. Anything that was susceptible to that was broken. Permanently. The upside and downside was that it was still summer. The upside was that we could bathe in the river and such, but the downside was that it was boiling hot without AC. Mary lived off the base, so she survived the attack, but now she went to our school. Instead of taking the bus through, we walked. We heard nothing about Mr. Andrews, but everything that worked with batteries or electricity was dead. That is until the night of day eight…_

* * *

"_How can I love if I'm afraid to fall?"_ Alana sang softly as she pushed the sponge over the dishes in the pail. Singing was an old trick she learned to make chores go faster.

Setting the wet dish onto the towel, it was picked up by Cathy, who dried it. "_But watching you stand alone," _she added.

Mary was visiting and she put the dishes back into their homes. "_All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow."_

The girls smile at each other and continue to sing the song by turns till they sang the last verse and the dishes were finished.

The sound of soft applause made the trio jump, but the sight behind their audience made Alana shriek. The group of their families parted and Alana threw her arms around a man in uniform. "I'm alright Alana," he whispered with his soft southern accent in her ear holding her close. "Thank you for everything." Alana stepped slightly back at his strange words. The edges of his soft gray eyes crinkled. "You will have much ahead of you and Jane won't always be there, but I'll be and you can always know that I am safe for eternity because of you." He started to fade.

Alana panicked, grasped at him, but her hands went through him. "Mr. Andrews, Chris!"

His fading hand swept across her cheek. "Be strong little one, I'm honored to have known you. I love you…"

* * *

Alana sat straight up in her bed panting. She glanced around in the dark before fumbling for the lighter and candle that she kept by her bed. Candle lit, she padded to Mr. and Mrs. Andrews' bedroom and cracked the door. Alana tiptoed to his side of the bed and touched it. It was cold. Realization hit her like a sucker punch to the gut.

Mrs. Andrews turned over. "Alana?"

Alana set her candle on the nightstand before burying her head in his pillow and sobbing her heart out. It was one of _those_ dreams.

"Alana, sweetheart, what's wrong?" murmured Mrs. Andrews, lifting up Alana's head and wiping away some of the tears with her thumbs. "Come here."

Alana climbed next to her and whispered. "I had a dream."

Mrs. Andrews pulled her close. "A dream?"

"Yes," Alana nodded. "When I was five, I really got to know my foster mom's mother. She had cancer and we visited her in the hospital. One night, I had a dream so real about her singing this song she had taught me and rocking me in her arms and she told me not to be sad. I was woken up by her daughter who told me that we needed to go to the hospital right away because her mother just died." Alana took a deep breath. "In my dream, Mary, Cathy, and I were singing the song in the kitchen washing some dishes and when we were done you and their parents were there clapping. Behind them was… was Mr. Andrews. He held me close and told be that you wouldn't always be there and that I had saved him and then he started fading." Alana's voice cracked as she choked on a sob. "He told me to be strong and that he loved me." Mrs. Andrews stroked her hair in an attempt to calm Alana down. Alana composed herself long enough to finish. "It was the same kind of dream as before."

"Oh Alana," Mrs. Andrews was crying now too. "If this is what you think it is then he meant that you showed him eternal life."

Alana sat up stock straight. "What do you mean?"

Mrs. Andrews smiled as best as she could. "He talked about how you were convincing him about God when he left. He said that he needed to reconcile the idea with himself. If he's gone, then if you believe in that sort of thing, he's in the arms of Jesus." She leant over Alana and blew out her candle. "Now, why don't we stay together to night, hmm?" She pulled the exhausted girl to her side, where Alana borrowed and dropped to sleep in a moment.

* * *

_The enemy, we learned, had started landing troops as soon as the initial bombardment was over on day three. A large group landed at Mobile and headed north. A group of our own troops marched to cut them off. It was only day eleven when the war came to Maycomb…_

* * *

Again, Alana awoke in the middle of the night. Another explosion and the beat of gunfire was heard in the distance. She drew a sharp, short breath at the sound. A second later, Alana's door was thrown open by Mrs. Andrews with a candle in her hand. "Alana, quickly!"

Alana flew out of bed, grabbing her bible as she went. Mrs. Andrews put her arm behind Alana as she went out her door. "We'll go to the basement."

It took all the strength Alana had to nod in answer. They flew down the stairs and Mrs. Andrews grabbed to quilts off the couch. "Alana, grab that box of c…candles." Her trembling voice revealed that she was just as shaken. They both jumped when they heard knocking on the front door. Mrs. Andrews shouted, "Who is it?"

"Jane, it's me, David. We don't have basement."

Alana and Mrs. Andrews let out a sigh of relief as she opened the for Cathy's family. "Come in. We were about to head down ourselves."

The group headed down. The ladies lit some candles and distributed the blankets that they had. Alana and Cathy shared one and sat in a corner. Before they could settle in, a knock was heard on the door at the top of the stairs. David reached to his belt and pulled out a pistol. Leveling it at the door, he called, "Who is it?"

"James Svenson. Is that you, David?"

Again, sigh of relief was heard. "Come on down, the more the merrier!"

Mary's family entered the basement and Mary joined the girls in their corner. "What happened?" Alana asked.

Mary tucked herself in before replying, "The battle is approaching us from our side of town. Dad wanted to get as far as possible from them but be with friends since you know they say there's safety in numbers."

Suddenly, an enormous explosion was heard that rocked the house, exploded the windows, and made everyone's ears ring. Anna, Mary's three-month-old baby sister, started to scream, but her mother soon calmed it down. Cathy shivered. "That was close," she whispered. "Even I know that this basement wouldn't survive a hit." Alana smiled grimly.

"Attention everyone!" barked out James, who was a drill sergeant only not in this battle because his leg was still healing from a wound. "That was an accident. The battle is still a ways away. The best thing you can do is try to rest. David, would you take the second watch and we'll alternate until morning."

"Sure," he replied. "How long?"

As the men shared information, the girls snuggled closer. "Just like a big happy sleepover," whispered Cathy. Mary and Alana giggled before the trio fell asleep.

* * *

Alana woke to the sound of talking and the occasional groan. She sat up, and seeing that Cathy and Mary were still asleep, she woke them up as she saw that the men had left the room. Mrs. Svenson handed her a change of clothes. Alana changed under her nightgown into the jeans, navy ribbon tank, and boots as fast as she could. Walking into the bathroom down there, she found a rubber band and then headed up stairs while braiding her hair. She walked into a scene that could of come from a WWII movie. A group of officers stood around her dining room table look at maps while an enlisted man swept the glass from the windows away as many others milled around. No one noticed her as she stepped to what used to be the picture window that faced the street. Definably a war movie, she thought as she took in the scene of the huge crater that was Cathy's house two doors down and across the street and the wounded being laid in the yard of the house across the street. Alana recalled that the house was for sale. Then a thought hit her and she raced outside and across the street, weaving around the soldiers that crammed her street. It crossed her mind for a split second that her street must be headquarters, but it left as she entered the house, no, hospital now. She stepped up to a woman in uniform with a red cross on her arm and asked, "What can I do?"

The woman, no, Lieutenant, looked at her in surprise, asking, "What can you do? What are you, sixteen?"

"Fifteen, ma'am," answered Alana. "I can and will do anything. I'll clean up, bandage wounds, and give shots. My foster father was a Medical Officer and he taught me a lot."

The Lieutenant gently put her hand on Alana's arm. "Where?"

Alana sighed. "D.C. we think."

She nodded. "I'm sorry for your loss. We're under staffed, so you can go outside and start giving some second aid, alright?" She handed a case to Alana. "Everyone on the front lawn is not critical or needs a surgeon's care, but they're pretty beat up. Okay?"

Alana replied, "Yes ma'am. Thank you!" And she rushed back out the door, stopping to let a stretcher by.

She dropped on her knees by the side of the first man by the door. He looked at her with a tiny grin. "Aren't you a bit young to be a nurse?" Alana beamed as best as she could and she cleaned the sort-of burn wound on his arm. The man saw her look and supplied, "Their guns are lasers too and you have the prettiest blue eyes."

Alana blushed a bit. "That would explain it." she answered vaguely. "On a scale of one to ten, how bad is the pain?"

The man grimaced. "Twelve."

She look in her case and to her surprise found what she wanted. Picking up a syringe and a bottle, she asked, "How tall and how heavy are you?"

He looked at her with wide eyes. "Six one. Do you know what you're doing?" he asked, eyes the level of the liquid.

"Never had formal training, but, yes, I do know what I'm doing," she replied as she injected him with a penicillin and morphine mix. "I hope you aren't allergic to penicillin or morphine."

He chuckled as she pulled the needle from his good arm. "No."

She finished cleaning and bandaging the soldier before moving on to the next and the next and the next. The sun was high in the sky when she took a break to drink some water. While it was still muggy, this house had several large trees in the front yard, shading it so it wasn't to hot. She was finishing up her drink on the steps when she heard a strange sound and saw a streak of red hit one of the trees. The first soldier that she treated grabbed her and flipped over her with a grunt of pain. He smiled at her and she smiled back before she heard a sick sounding smack and the light left his eyes. He had given his life for her.

Alana stayed under the man's corpse until the firing stopped. Pushing him slowly off her, Alana crept out from under him and looked up straight into the barrel of some sort of gun. She squeaked and slowly put her hands up, trembling. The man, creature?, behind the gun in a strange white suit of armor, called out, "Captain, I found another one!"

Alana turned her head and saw a man wearing the same armor but had his helmet off walking towards them. "Stand up!" he ordered. Alana complied, standing on shaky legs. "Name, rank."

Alana's mouth dropped open. Her hand moved slightly and brushed her face. Alana looked up and saw that her hand was covered in blood. "I… I'm not a soldier!" she stammered, still staring at the blood on her hand. She continued weakly, "I'm only fifteen! I live across the stree…" She nearly crumpled when she saw the crater that was once her house. Her arms fell at her sides. Suddenly, a pair of arms was around her. She looked up and saw that it was Mary. "Mary, where is Mrs. Andrews?" Alana murmured. Pain crossed Mary's face as she set Alana back on the stairs. Panicked, Alana pushed her away and ran toward what used to be her home. "Mrs. Andrews? Jane!" she screamed. Mary was at her side and tried to explain that Mrs. Andrews and Cathy and her family were all killed in the explosion, but Alana wouldn't believe her. The sky had darkened and finally rain began to fall. Alana fell to her knees as she took all of it in, Mary standing by her side. Little did they know, but a photographer took a shot of them, Alana in profile on her knees, rocking and holding her arms around her as she mourned and Mary with her hand on her head with the crater and debris in the background. The photographer looked at his camera for a second before moving on. Little did he know that this would become the iconic shot of the war when it came to its victims and civilian survivors. And little did anyone know that this shot would answer all of Alana questions about who see was.

* * *

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	4. Run

**Hello Everybody!**

**Big chapter here. Also, do you want to see the trailer at all?**

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* * *

Chapter Four

Run

"She was a wonderful person." "She will be missed." "We went to high school together." Alana stood in a line with the families of those that were killed receiving people's condolences. While she was being treated for a few small cuts after her breakdown, she had met a soldier who was with her foster-father when he died. As she stood there she wondered where she would go next and whom they would be. Tomorrow, there would be a mass funeral and memorial service as many were so mangled that they couldn't be recognized.

All of a sudden, Mrs. Svenson was in front of her and placed her hand on her shoulder. Alana came out of her haze and noticed that it was dark outside. Mrs. Svenson placed her arm around her. "Alana, you're going to stay with us for now, alright?"

Alana just numbly let her lead her to Mary who led her home.

* * *

_The days after the battle were and still are blurry. I remember meeting a man who gave me a few of my foster father's things, dog tags, etc. I remember leaving the visitation with Mary, but that entire week following the battle is like looking into a thick fog, you se some things and others are hidden from you. What finally woke me from this haze was the last thing I expected to happen at the funeral…_

* * *

One member of each family that was killed was requested to speak, and in some cases that was a friend. Alana stepped up to the platform as her name was called. She took a deep breath before beginning.

"I didn't live with the Andrews very long at all. Maybe, six months? But they were the closest thing to a family that I ever had. Mrs. Andrews, or as many of you know her, Jane, was my mother. We didn't share the same views, but they never pulled us apart. She cared and she tended me and she listened to my hopes and my fears. She gave me some of the best advice that I have ever received and she encouraged me to reach for my dreams." Alana wiped a few tears away.

"Mrs. Andrews may have been like my mother, but Mr. Andrews was my grandfather. He was kind, doting, almost spoiling me. He too came from the system and he knew what a product of it yearned for. Many of you might wonder why I'm speaking of him at his wife's service. Well, this is a memorial service as well and as I will never see his body, this is my eulogy to him. He was a field medic and a fine doctor. He was in D.C. at the time and survived alongside many others. He died saving others, and according to his comrade, he tended both sides. I will never for…" Alana stopped as she noticed on of the veterans coming toward her with something in his hands. Walking with a faltering step, he mounted the platform and stood beside her.

"This… this was my brother's flag that they gave to my mother when he died. It's only right that I give it now to you, as a recognition of your man's sacrifice since he'll never get what he deserves." He handed the flag to her as she whispered her thanks.

"I had a dream. Well, not that kind." A titter went up. "Mr., no I should say Colonel Andrews was in this dream and he told me to be strong. I hope that all of you do the same. Thank you." Alana stepped down and a friend of Cathy's family took the podium. She had done her duty and she could let go.

* * *

A few days later, Alana awoke to the sound of Mrs. Svenson discussing something with someone. Alana threw on a dress and crept out of the room, heading down the stairs. There she saw a very official looking woman standing across from her and immediately noticed her.

"Alana Everheart, correct?" she asked.

Alana answered a bit wary, "Yes?"

The woman narrowed her eyes. "Do not answer a question with a question. I am Dunn Cancindi from Social Services."

Inwardly, Alana groaned. She heard of nice social workers, but why did she always get mean ones. "You're from the?"

"If you are asking me if I come from this dump of a planet, I do not. I've been assigned here by the Imperial City office."

"Okay. May I ask why you're here?"

"I am here to discuss your removal. In two weeks you will leave for Naboo. I have left any other information with Mrs. Svenson." With that she left.

Alana waited for the car, no, speeder to leave before she exploded. "Naboo! What is Naboo! At least Ms. Satioanga at the decency to sit down and discuss what I would like!" Tears fell as she was wrapped in Mrs. Svenson's arms. "I don't want to leave you, let alone this planet!"

The rest of the family came down at the commotion and was informed. Mary was the most cheerful. "We'll write and when we get one of those holo things we'll see each other. Besides, your god is with you."

Alana sat up and smiled. "Thanks, Mary. I forgot about him."

Shrugging, Mary gave her a hug. "We'll just have to get some sort of bucket list done before you leave. I know! One thing you should do is go jump off that waterfall! And… and dance in the park! We have only two weeks people, but we have things to do and places to be!"

Everyone laughed at Mary's antics and Alana determined to make the best of what she was handed. If life hands you lemons, you make lemonade!

* * *

Mrs. Childs gave Alana a few pairs of pointe shoes that fit her so she could continue to dance, but now she sang or hummed since the power was still not on. Today though, the high school orchestra was going to play in the park and Alana and her friends were going to dance. Mary and Alana sat on the other side of the gazebo tying on their shoes, when Mary gave her a locket. "It has my picture in it and Mr. and Mrs. Andrews'. I put your picture in mine so we will be always close to our hearts."

Alana wiped away a few tears and hugged Mary. "Best friends for always."

"Best friends for always."

They heard their cue, ran out, and put their hearts into it. It was the dance of the little swans, Alana's favorite, and two other girls from their class danced with them. Alana moved her head and feet in exact coordination with the other girls and lost herself in the music. The girls curtsied at the end and Mary and Alana sat next to Mary's mother. The orchestra played many songs from many genres, Bach to Beethoven, Elvis to Elton. All in all, everyone had a great time.

Mary leaned over and whispered, "Dance in the park, check."

Alana just smirked.

* * *

_That first week, we did so many things together. We jumped off a waterfall and ran ten miles. We made ice cream by throwing a bag around. Mrs. Svenson let us do a crazy, overdone makeover to each other. We sang together and cried together. If she wasn't before, Mary was without a doubt my best friend. They let her dad go at the end of that week, thin and pale, but he was alive and that was all that counted. Other than the overhanging doom I felt at going to Naboo, we were lighthearted, made jokes and pulled pranks. That is, until halfway through the last week…_

* * *

_A looming figure stood over Alana, attempting to slash at her with a knife. Alana managed to roll away only a second before the knife came crashing down where she just was. The monster grabbed her foot before she could move and stabbed her again and again and again. To her shock, she heard herself screaming for her father. Suddenly, a burst of light struck the beast in half and arms cradled her close._

* * *

Alana nearly screamed when she woke up. Her body throbbed all over, but there was no blood. She repeated to herself, it was just a dream, over and over. Snuggling into Mary's side she slowly fell back asleep. But, high above her, a man encased in an armored suit was desperate to understand his vision and the actions that he took in it. She was dead! Their child was dead! It was a vision, not a dream. He was a Sith, why would he hold a child in his arms? A Sandperson? The only person he held in his… no, he was not going to think of that. His head shot up as he remembered seeing the child's face before. In a holophoto. While he looked for it, he remembered that the feel of the vision was like one of the nightmares that Kenobi broadcasted after he came back from Mandalore. So, this child was force-sensitive, very force-sensitive. He held up the holochip and inserted it into the projector. A shot of a child covered in blood on her knees in front of a destroyed house appeared in front of him. He looked closely at the face. She did look at bit like her, he let himself think. Whoever she was, she was powerful and she must be trained. The Jedi must not get a hold of her.

* * *

"_I will sing of the glory of the Lord forever, I will sing, I will sing_." Mary's little sister and Alana sang together as they set the table for dinner.

"I like that song!" shouted little Eva.

Alana laughed. "Me too."

Mary swept into the room and threw Eva up into the air. "My little bitty songbird!" she exclaimed when she caught the six-year-old again.

Eva squealed and giggled.

The girls were startled by the front door banging open and the sound of boots and respirator-like breathing filled the house. Mr. Svenson ran past them into the hall to meet the intruders. He backed up back into the Dining Room when he saw who lead the group. The head of the Imperial task force, Lord Darth Vader, strode into the room. Mr. Svenson stammered out, "Wel… welcome, Lord Vader." Vader ignored him and locked eyes with Alana.

"What is your name?" he ordered, his presence commanding an immediate answer.

"Alana Elita Everheart, sir," Alana replied shakily, thinking that the occasion warranted her full name. "Well," she added. "Everheart was given to me. Alana Elita was the name that my parents gave me."

Vader was about to ask her age when he felt that the Force wanted him to ask another. "What does that mean?"

Alana was startled by the question. "It… it basically means, um, in Latin and Gaelic, child of the chosen one."

Vader stared at her. Child of the chosen one! "How old are you? Have you ever done anything strange?"

"Um, fifteen. The strangest thing about me is that I sometimes dream of people that I know right after they die. Or right before, maybe?"

Vader reached out and touched her mind. The child jumped. He nodded. She was sensitive. "You must come with me," and he turned to leave. He heard behind him, "Why?" "What?" he barked, his cloak swirled around his ankles as he turned to her.

Alana swallowed. "I said why. I don't just go with anyone without knowing why."

Vader grabbed her arm instead of giving into his urge to choke her. "I do not answer questions, child. I ask them." He could see through her eyes that she was terrified and strangely, he felt horrible for a split second before squashing it like an insect. He strode from the room dragging her behind him.

Alana struggled to free herself from his grip, but it grew tighter till a whimper escaped her lips. "You're hurting me!"

Vader growled, "If you did not struggle, I would have no reason to harm you." He pulled he into the speeder after him. "Sit."

Alana had it. She was very smooth-tempered, but when she had enough, she had enough. She snapped, "I am not a dog!" Not only did Lord Vader stare at her, but the officers and soldiers as well.

She what! "You will sit or you will die, and you will not question me again, is that clear?"

Alana sat, her back striking the seat back as the speeder took off. Luckily, no one spoke until they arrived at a space ship and then it was only to tell her o buckle up. When they arrived wherever they were going, it was cold. Alana shivered as Lord Vader toke her arm again and led her off what she now knew as a shuttle. She gaped as see took in the sight of what appeared to be a large hangar. She turned her head and stopped stock still at the sight that met her eyes.

Vader dragged the child a few steps before he realized that she was not moving. "What is it?" he growled, turning to her.

"We're in space?"

At this Vader was thrown back to the first time he saw the stars up close, back when the weak Jedi still thrived. He remembered how cold it was then. He saw that the hair on her arms was raised. "Yes, we are."

Alana took another look at her planet. She smiled a small, bitter smile. "It's beautiful," she whispered, looking straight at him.

Vader shook his head and started to walk again and to his surprise, the child was able to keep up with him without jogging.

Just then, Alana realized that she was holding something in her free hand. How could I forget that, she thought. It was her ballet bag with her shoes, her leotard, and… and her bible! Alana did a mini happy dance in her head. She wanted to ask Lord Vader where they were going, but she didn't dare.

"I am taking you to the Medical Area for a blood test."

Alana stared at him. "Did you just read my mind?"

"No, you were broadcasting your thoughts." At her alarmed look he added, "I am the only one on this ship capable of hearing them."

"Oh." They got in some sort of elevator. Once the doors closed, the elevator shot down so fast that Alana wrapped her arms around Vader's to prevent herself from falling.

Vader look down on the child's face with a bit of amusement. The doors opened on to the medical area of his ship and he strode out once the child let go of him.

Alana's face was pink with embarrassment when they stepped out into what was clearly a sort of hospital. She saw men lying on bed's wrapped in bandages and her eyes fell on a man struggling and screaming under the hands of a group of doctors.

One turned and saw them standing there and his jaw dropped. Then he looked furious. "Vader! I'm sure even you know better than to bring a child into a trauma unit!"

Vader allowed his disrespect to pass. "Then I will await you in your office." He turned and strode from the room. He walked down the hall and waved a door open.

Alana stepped in after him. Lord Vader let go of her arm and waved at what looked like an examining table. Alana sat down on it.

Ten minutes went by before the door opened to admit the doctor that Lord Vader spoke to. The elderly man ran his hand through his short, gray hair. "Vader, she is probably traumatized!"

"That is no concern of mine."

"No concern of… Vader, what did you bring her here for."

Alana spoke up. "She is right here. He said something about a blood test."

"I do not need you to answer for me, child," Vader hissed. "A Force and DNA test."

The doctor raised his eyebrows. "What database do you want me to check it against?"

"Every one."

The doctor prepared to draw Alana's blood. "I'm going to…" Alana stopped him. "I know. I've given shots before. It's just the opposite."

As he began, he asked, "Where did you learn that?"

Alana replied, watching the blood rise in the vial, "My foster-father was an Army Doctor and a medic. He taught me a lot. He… he said that I probably could become a registered nurse."

The doctor smiled at her as he removed the needle from her arm. "Sound like quite the man. What is your name?"

Alana stared at the door. "He was the closest thing to a grandfather that I ever had. Alana Elita. I was given the last name Everheart."

The doctor nodded. "I am Dr. Exant. I'm going to go process this. Only be a few moments." He stepped over to a console and entered the sample.

Alana glanced at Lord Vader before looking at the doctor when he spoke again. "Alana is force-sensitive. Just a moment and I'll have the DNA results." A moment later, "We…"

Vader sighed, "Yes, Exant?"

Exant turned to them and smiled. "Congratulations, it's a girl."

"What!" Alana shrieked.

* * *

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	5. Father's Daughter

**Hi!**

**AP is swamping me! I'll try upload at least once a week, but please forgive me if it's a week and a half. This chapter is a bit of a transition.**

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* * *

Chapter Five

Father's Daughter

"What!" Alana shrieked. Did he just say that, that she was Vader's daughter? She glanced at Vader who was staring at her like she was about to disappear. She chuckled nervously, "You know, when we say that on Earth, it would mean that he," she pointed at Vader, "and I are related, usually in the context of being a father and daughter."

"That's what I meant," explained the doctor.

Alana glanced at Vader before letting her eyes fall to her lap. "Um, I don't want to seem… well, how could you be my father? I've lived on Earth for my entire life and areyouevenhuman? I'm confused, really completely confused." Then a thought popped in her mind. "Did my mother abandon me?"

Every thing that the chil, no, his daughter was saying went in one ear and out the other until that question hit him like a durasteel wall. "No!" Seeing, what's her name, oh, Alana, cower made him want to slam his head into the wall. Quieter, he explained, "She died right after you were born." Then, as an after thought, he added, "Alana."

During this exchange the doctor slipped out of the room. He knew that Vader's greatest regret about turning other than his wife's death was his child. Despite Vader's temper, he knew the girl would be safe with him.

Vader hadn't spoke to anyone about his wife in years and now he found that he would have to explain most of it to a girl he just met, who probably was scared out of their mind of him. Yeah, Vader, he heard, way to go. "Your mother was my wife. Her name was Padme. She looked very much like you. The Jedi must have taken you to this planet. Your mother would have never let you out of her sight." Again, he heard a sarcastic voice in his mind, "What eloquence!" it chuckled. "Doctor!" Dr. Exant poked his head around the corner. "I want you to give my daughter a full checkup and then have her escorted to my quarters." With that he strode from the room to try to make sense of all this and to inform the Emperor.

"Well," Dr. Exant rubbed his hands together. "That went rather well."

Alana looked at him like he lost his mind.

* * *

"Well, it looks like you are in good health," stated Dr. Exant after completing a scan. For a split second, a smile appeared on Alana's face before it returned to a completely befuddled expression. "Is something wrong?" he asked, putting away the scanner.

Alana shrugged. "I'm still trying to… I don't know! I, he, my. Ugh!" She lifted her hands up in a frustrated gesture. Hands over her face, she laughed. "This morning, all I had to worry about was leaving my planet. I knew what to expect to some degree. Now, I don't know what is going to happen. At least, at least it appears that I was wanted. I always thought I was abandoned by my parents as a newborn."

Exant sat next to her. "You were abandoned?"

"Yeah. I was found crying by a police officer in a park. DNA testing, for now obvious reasons, was unsuccessful and I ended up in the system when I wasn't adopted."

"Here you go into it at age five. How old were you?"

"I was a year old. I was about two or three days old when they found me and most stay out for a year. If adoption isn't started during that year, you go into the system. At least that's what happened to me."

The doctor patted her on the shoulder. "Well, I should have you taken to your father's quarters." He shouted, "Ensign Aylin!"

A young man ran in, stopping short at the door. "Yes Sir?"

Exant gestured to Alana. "Escort the young lady to Lord Vader's quarters."

* * *

_Earlier..._

"Erran! What are you doing here? Injured yourself again already?" asked a man carrying a tray.

Erran laughed, "Not this time, Moran, sorry. Just wasting time. Do you have anything that I can do?" Mussing with his blond hair, he firmly replaced his cap.

"None that you are trained to do. Talk to Doc, he might have a place for you."

Grinning, Erran called his thanks and headed up the corridor. Rounding the corner, he spotted Doctor Exant. Affectionately known as Doc, he was the only one that could reason with Lord Vader when the Sith was in a blood mood. "Doc! Is there some way I can help?"

The older man greeted him. "Lylin, no, but I may need a message delivered after I'm done with some business in my office."

"I'll wait here, Doc."

Erran waited only a few minutes before Lord Vader came sweeping out of Doc's office, scarring him out of his wits. He manage to collect them enough to salute before the Sith disappeared around a twist in the drab hall. About ten minutes after that, Doc called him. He sprinted in, but stopped in shock at the sight before him. Automatically, he asked, "Yes Sir?"

"Escort the young lady to Lord Vader's quarters." What?

Alana decided to let herself be bemused by the look on the man's face and slipping on a mask of cool amusement, sanguinely asked, "Is that a problem, Ensign?"

"No... No, Miss." The man seemed to be totally bewildered by the fact that he was to take a girl to Lord Vader's chambers. By the look in his eyes, the conclusion he drew did not seem to be a good one. She'd have to set him straight on the walk. The ensign gestured out the door.

After a minute or two of walking, Alana slightly turned to the Ensign and held out her hand. "Alana." Not sure of her last name at the moment she just gave her first.

The young man took it. "Erran."

Alana smiled. "How do you spell that? A-A-R-O-N?

The ensign look surprised by the question. "Uh, no, Miss. E-R-R-A-N.

Never heard it spelled like that. "Where I'm from we usually spell it the other way."

"Where are you from, if you don't mind me asking?"

Alana gestured vaguely and used a word that she heard the pilots use in the shuttle. "Planetside."

Ensign Aylin did a double take. "You're from the planet and you're not…" He stopped himself.

Alana decided to continue his chain of thought. "Not a prisoner, yes. Scared, no. You seem to be decent and so I'll be honest. I'm absolutely petrified. Along the lines of prisoner, I am among the people who killed the closest people I've had to a family. You have tech that we have only dreamed of and you have a man that has a glowing red sword."

Erran blinked.

"Though, I do suppose I shouldn't be because if what I've been told is true, than I should be pretty safe. And I'm rambling, sorry." Alana looked sheepish.

"Uh, well, I…"

"If you're thinking that Lord Vader and I are, I'm not going to say it, please expel that thought from your brain as soon as possible, preferably now."

"What d…" Erran's sentence was cut off as the door to Vader's quarters slid open and the Dark Lord himself came out, and right back in. Alana felt that she should follow and with a wave, disappeared inside.

* * *

Alana stepped into the room, jumping when the door slid shut. Vader stood by the only window and was outlined by the Moon. With a quiet tread, Alana slipped up next to him, and taking a deep breath, slid her arm around his. For a second, he did not react, but then turned his mask down at her and Alana got the feeling she was being studied. She was determined to get to know her only parent and so she went one step farther and leaned her head against his arm. She was tired.

All that could be heard was Vader's breathing until he deemed to break the silence. "You are either extremely brave or you are a fool."

Alana's face was downwards, but somehow, she was sure that Vader knew she was holding back laughter. Then, she couldn't hold on any longer and burst of laughing. Vader just stood there and watched her laugh until she cried. Sitting down with her back to the wall and wiping the tears from her eyes, she looked up and smiled, "I think I'm the latter because I'm not at all brave."

Vader turned to her and said, "You are braver than you think."

Alana shrugged. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Sorry for that by the way. Sometimes things build up on me and then someone says something and I explode some way or another. Today has been rather hysterical."

"You believe today has been funny?" Vader was perplexed.

"Well, look at it from my perspective. The supreme commander of the army that took over your country comes to your home and asks a bunch of weird questions, drags you out, and takes you where very very few people have ever been, maybe none, performs a bunch of medical tests, and on top of all this, he's your father. It must be like a bad horror movie."

"I see."

"You have horror movies?"

"Yes, though I have not watched one in many years."

"I've never. Never was interested in them anyways."

"You are not missing anything but a few nightmares."

Alana cocked her head. "Are we having perfectly normal father-daughter conversation?"

Vader looked at her. "I would not know."

"I don't think we are going to have a hard time."

"I agree."

* * *

_The rest of the day was rather quiet. Father either stood at the window or seemed to be doing random things in this egg-shaped thingamabob, at that time; I didn't know what it was. I read my bible or stood at the window at watched the surprisingly busy activity out there. Finally this was broken up when my stomach rumbled…_

* * *

Alana looked at the tray that sat on her lap trying to make heads or tails of its contents. Vader watched her, a bit amused at her perplexed expression. Alana eventually plucked up the courage to ask, "What exactly is all this?" She looked up at Vader and saw that he was shaking. "Are you alright?" she asked, concerned.

Vader's words came out disjointed. "The – voice filter – does – not – understa-nd – laugh-ter."

Alana's jaw dropped. "You're laughing at me?" she practically shrieked. "That's not fair. I've never seen food like this in my life and you're laughing at me?"

Vader smiled wider than he ever had since **her** death under the helmet. "Yes."

"Once you're done laughing at me, _Dad,_ I am pretty hungry!"

He proceeded to point out what each item was and with the help of the holonet and taste buds, Alana found that she was have the equivalent of a beef stew with purple mashed potatoes.

Alana set the tray aside, covering her mouth as she yawned as she moved back to the window. Vader continued his work until he heard a quiet thump. Looking over his shoulder, he saw that his daughter was laying on the floor underneath the window curled into a ball. With her eyes closed, Alana looked exactly like her mother and Vader's heart clenched. For a split second, he allowed himself to picture **her** when she was pregnant with their little girl. He was brought back to reality by his daughter's whimper. Vader swept her up and laid her in the bed that he never seemed to use, pulling the covers over her. He missed so much, but he was determined to not miss anything else.

* * *

Alana sat straight up when she woke up, panicking until she remembered the… events. Falling back onto the mattress, she groaned. At least her dad, father?, and herself got off to a semi-good start. After the hiccups of their meeting and the doctor's, it seemed to be all right. She still didn't feel that comfortable about the whole situation, but it was better than being afraid for your life. Alana noticed she was still wearing her clothes, which to her chagrin, made her give a sigh of relief. She nearly slapped herself. She noticed her ballet bag on the other side of the bed, grabbed it, and opened it. Just like she thought, her bible, leotard, and pointes were in the bag, but to her surprise there was a toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, bobby pins, nightgown, spare panties, and a dress and ballet flats. Alana stared at the contents until she noticed a note from Mrs. Svenson.

_Alana,_

_Heard the commotion downstairs and packed this for you. If you have it, I managed to hand it to you. Take care._

_Eva_

Alana sent a small prayer of thanksgiving before becoming lost in the pages of her book as a glance at the clock made it three in the morning on board. Alana went through some exercises and eventually it was seven, an hour that Alana thought safe to venture outside the room. She noticed that the egg sphere thing was shut instead of opened before noticing the view outside the window. Unlike last night where she saw just space, it was facing Earth with the sun behind the ship. It was the most amazing thing she had ever seen.

With a loud hiss, the egg opened and Vader emerged, making Alana jump. He informed her, "We are leaving the system in an hour. If you wish, you may accompanied me to the Bridge."

Alana was a little shocked by the knowledge that she was going to leave her home so soon but a more desperate thought pushed through. "Do you happen to have a bathroom… somewhere?"

Vader realized that she was asking for a Refresher and gestured at a door next to the one she exited. "I believe you will find it in there."

Alana gave a quick nod before bolting. After a few moments, she pulled herself together and changed into her extra clothes and pulled back her hair into a bun that Cornel Andrews would be proud of. She couldn't believe that Mrs. Svenson gave her the only item of useable clothing that she owned. She had left it a few days before the battle at their house after a sleepover and had completely forgotten it until she had opened her bag. Now, she was extremely happy to have something a little dressy… and preppy. She stepped out and followed Vader out the door. This was going to be very interesting.

* * *

_I had never been stared at more my entire life then that walk to the Bridge. I'm not and I wasn't very short, far from it, but I looked positively tiny next to Dad. I stayed quiet till we very near the Bridge before I started to pipe up with a little question and he would answer in as few words as possible…_

* * *

"Where are we going?"

"I do not repeat myself."

Alana filed that away. "I meant as in where is the ship or whatever you call it going."

"It is called a Star Destroyer and we are going to Imperial City."

"What's that?"

"The Capitol of the Empire."

Apparently, Vader was not a morning person.

"How long will it take?"

"Three days."

"Okay."

Vader glanced at his daughter. His daughter. _Padme's daughter_. He couldn't stop glancing at her and making sure it wasn't another dream. Suddenly, he felt panic. Squashing it into a ball, he disposed of it and uncovered why he panicked. He had absolutely no idea how to raise a child and he had always heard that this age was the worst. He'll muddle through. He always does.

Alana stopped for a second as they entered the Bridge, but Vader put a hand on the small of her back and nudged her forward with him. Conversations stopped as Vader passed and Alana felt like she was six again as she was stared at.

"Captain?"

The man stuttered, "Ready to go to Light speed, Lord Vader."

"Proceed."

Alana caught a last glimpse of Earth before the stars stretched out and swirled into hyperspace.

* * *

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	6. Getting to Know You

**Hello Ev****erybody!**

**I'm not going to able to be on the internet for the next week. Programing will return as soon as possible.**

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Chapter Six

Getting to Know You

Casting a glance at the swirling lines outside the window, Alana turned her face to the holopad in front of her. She was playing a toddler game that had you match Aurebesh letters to Coruscant ones, which are the same as earth's letters. Pressing pause, she look up again but not at the window. What she now knew as a mediation chamber, formerly known as the egg, was shut tightly with her father inside. After getting eighteen wrong in a row, Alana suddenly had the urge to scream and smash the tablet. Taking a deep breath, she sang, her favorite way to calm down.

_Getting to know you, _

_Getting to know all about you,_

_Getting to like you, _

_Getting to hope you like me. _

_Getting to know you, _

_Putting it my way, _

_But nicely, _

_You are precisely, _

_My cup of tea._

_Getting to know you, _

_Getting to feel free and easy,_

_When I am with you, _

_Getting to know what to say._

_Haven't you noticed,_

_Suddenly I'm bright and breezy? _

_Because of all the beautiful and new,_

_Things I'm learning about you,_

_Day by day._

"I do not believe that is accurate." Vader spoke out.

Alana was so absorbed in herself that she didn't notice that Vader had left his chamber. She started and turning around, saw him striding toward the door. "Where are you going?"

Vader turned on his heel and pointed at her. "You will stay here until I return," he growled.

Alana sat back down. The look on her face followed him all the way to the bridge, but he ignored it. A Sith is not disturbed by a child, even if it is his own.

* * *

Alana hastily wiped a few tears from her eyes. Sighing, she reminded herself that even through this man is her father; she didn't know anything about him. What she did know didn't make look like an angel. The thought brought a tiny smile on her face as she pictured him with white wings, but it dropped as the wings turned black. More like a devil. Then watching the wings become black and white, she thought avenging angel or conflicted angel. A sudden shake of the room brought her to her feet. Flashing at the window pulled her to the window. They must have left 'light speed'. A gasp left her as she saw turning and twisting spacecraft firing at each other. She watched a twisting craft with a x-shaped tail blow up several of the black bow-tie shaped ships and saw in the distance several larger ships exchanging fire with her ship and clutched her forehead when one exploded. A sound like a loud scream flew through her head, but it wasn't hers.

The craft that saw before flew past so close that it almost grazed the window and for a split second she locked eyes with the pilot. Then he was gone. She watched all the ships like his and those in the distance flash before disappearing. Watching what must be the Empire's ships comb the wreckage, she slid down on her knees and laying her head against the window sent up a silent prayer. That's where Vader found her. Standing over her, he looked down until Alana's head rose to meet his gaze. Getting off the floor, she gave a small smile before managing to curl up in her chair. Somehow, she could tell that Vader was still watching her from the window. After sitting like this for several minutes that felt like hours, Alana couldn't take it anymore and ran into the bedroom. Noticing her bag, she threw it open, ripped out her shoes, and tugged them on her feet.

Vader watched her closely, trying to excite some sort of reaction from her. He smiled when she ran into the bedroom, but his brow furrowed as she pulled on a very strange pair of shoes. Her head again lifted to meet his and he could see that she had discovered his plan to anger her.

Alana gave one final tug to the ribbons on her pointe shoes as she finalized her plan. If he wanted her to be angry, she'll dance exactly the opposite. With a deep breath and playing the music in her head, she stood up and walked slowly into the other room. As soon as the dancing part of the Swan Lake theme came up, she slowly rose up onto her toes and moved arms as a swan. She slowly went through the motions of Odile's introductory dance, flitting here and there, till the music came to a close and she slipped down into a curtsy. Walked back into the bedroom she slid off her shoes and put back on her normal ones. Stepping to the doorway, she leaned against it softly and met her father's gaze.

Vader's jaw was hanging open as he blinked. What was that! He stared at his slightly panting daughter.

With a quiet voice, she asked, "Do I really look like my mother?"

Managing to close his mouth, he said, "Except for your eyes, yes." Seeing her furrowed brow, Vader continued, "Her eyes were brown and she was shorter than you."

"What did she do? I mean, did she have a job?"

Vader frowned, not liking where this conversation was going. "She was elected queen of her planet when she was fourteen and senator when she was twenty-four. I have things to do." He spun on his heel.

Alana stuttered for a second and shouted out, "Can I come with you?"

Vader's mind rushed back to the first time he saw Coruscant and gestured at the door. "We do not have all day."

With a laugh of glee, Alana shot out of the doorway. Being stuck in a room for three days made even her stir crazy. As they walked down the hallways, Vader told her, "No questions."

He watched her eyes take in everything and grinned a bit at her reaction to the ships in the hangar. Her grin grew bigger when she saw someone. Watching her sidestep over, he worked on his shuttle.

"Hello, Erran," Alana greeted.

Erran pushed himself out beneath the TIE. "Oh, hi. Are you all right? I mean, um, how are you?"

Alana pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "Fine, thank you. How are you?"

He blinked, "Um, good. I don't want to sound rude, but what are you doing here?"

"That's the reason," she gestured to Vader making Erran's eyes widen. "He said that I needed to see something. Have any ideas?"

Erran thought for a second. "Maybe he wanted you to see Coruscant. He usually takes off for the planet as soon as we leave hyperspace."

"Do you need any help?"

"A hydrospanner, but I doubt you know the difference between…" He stared as Alana pulled out the exact one he wanted. "How did you…"

Alana shrugged. "As soon as you said hydrospanner, I could see it in my head."

Erran's eyebrows nearly hit his hairline. "Okaay. Thanks. You better join Lord Vader. We'll be coming out of hyperspace pretty soon."

Alana jumped up and strode over to the larger ship that her father was working on and sat down on the ground. "Enter the ship and turn right. Sit down in the right chair," Vader called out. Alana looked around as she entered, a bit in awe. She was practically in shock the last time she was on one of these. Making her way to the front, she sat down in the chair on the right side. Soon, she heard the sound of Vader entering the shuttle. As soon as he sat down in the other chair and started the ship, the starlines outside shortened. Alana saw an alarm blinking and men running for the doorways. When the light stopped blinking the shimmering shield went down and Vader pulled out into space. Alana grinned as the she could feel the g-force on her body. As they came over the top of the ship, Alana saw a planet half dark and half light. The dark side seemed to be embedded with a million jewels and the light side was incrusted with diamonds. Alana's smile shrank a little at the thought of her green planet. Vader turned the yoke and headed for the light side of the planet. She had no idea of what to expect.

* * *

With a thump, the shuttle landed in another hangar bay. Alana had barely caught a glimpse of the huge tower that was attached to the building that they flew into. Suddenly, an uncharacteristic feeling of dread and darkness came over her. Unthinkingly, she reached across the space that separated her from Vader and grasped an edge of his cape.

Vader smiled as his master's presence came over him, but was startled before he could finish the connection. Nearly exploding, he went to attack whoever disturbed him, but stopped when he saw who grabbed him. His daughter was squished into a ball in her chair, wide blue eyes, and a hand wrapped his cape. She didn't look like a fifteen-year-old but a frightened six-year-old. Reaching out, he realized that the Emperor was trying to contact her as well and because her presence was so pure, it was terrifying her. With a quiet movement of his hand over her forehead, he severed any contact between the Emperor and his daughter. She instantly relaxed, but her eyes were still scared. Somehow, while he was reestablishing contact with Emperor, Vader unconsciously stroked Alana's hair.

Alana felt the feeling leave as soon as Vader touched her. With a sobbing laugh, she noticed that Vader's caress was absent, but it still felt good and she now knew that somewhere in his mind, her father loved her. That revelation made her feel giddy. Quickly, she placed a kiss on his arm. A few seconds later, Vader came out of his trance. "We are expected by the Emperor." Alana was left untangling herself. She raced after his catching up as soon as he reached the bottom of the ramp. Matching him step for step, Alana followed him out of the hangar.

* * *

Alana reassessed her award for the day that she was most stared at. Today was definably that day. When they left the hangar, they passed a few people but they were in uniform and too professional to do anything but glance. However when they entered some halls that were no longer gray and plain but highly decorated, people in elaborate clothing stared and imeaditaly broke into conversation. If now was ever a time, best foot forward, shoulders back, and head high. Soon, she followed Vader through a series of rooms, bypassing many, until they came to a final set of doors that swung open as they stepped up and slammed behind them. Vader's breathing echoed along with their foots steps and the crossed the chamber to a dais where a hooded figure sat. When they reached the bottom step, Vader kneeled. Alana gave a reverence, a more graceful form of a curtsy.

"Lord Vader." The figure rose and made its way down the stairs leaving its cane by the throne. "I hear that the campaign is successful." Alana quickly made space between her and Vader as the Emperor approached.

"Yes, Master. The rebellion against the Empire there destroyed."

"Rise, my apprentice. This the child?" questioned the Emperor, gesturing to Alana.

Vader stood and glanced at her. "Yes, this is my daughter."

The Emperor ordered, "Come here child."

Alana stopped about a foot from him, but she still couldn't see his face.

"What is your name?"

Alana almost whispered, "Alana," then almost panicking, added, "your majesty."

The figure turned toward Vader nodding. "Good." Looking at her, he continued, "Did you learn anything on your backwards, misguided planet?"

Both Vader and the Emperor felt her anger flair, but as soon as it raised it head, it was squashed. Alana answered quietly, "Yes."

"What?"

"Math, science, um, languages, history, politics, art, sports, dance, and music. On some subjects, I'm probably behind others because of the extent of Earth's tech, but I very good compared to my country's standards."

"Art, music, and dance?"

Alana was getting a bit annoyed. "Yes, we have art and music classes. I didn't take at my school but I took it at a school."

"You are dismissed." The Emperor sat back on his throne.

As they walked out of the room, Alana thought, what have I got myself into?

* * *

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	7. We are Family

**Hello Everybody!**

**Very short chapter, I know. But I wanted to give you all an update since I've been gone so long. I got access to the internet and all again but then I got the horrendous head and chest cold that I've ever had. I'm glad I'm homeschooled because I was out for the count for a couple of days. Now I'm on the tail end of the monster (did I say that I NEVER get sick?) and slowly getting the ball rolling.**

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* * *

Chapter Seven

We are Family

"You have no cause to be afraid of the Emperor, Daughter." Alana's head shot up to look at Vader. "He has no desire to harm you."

Alana blinked and blinked again. "I don't know how to explain it, but it felt weird."

"The feeling will subside. A light child always feels that way the first time they meet a Sith."

With furrowed brow, she replied, "But I never felt that way around you."

He stared down at her. "It did not appear so."

Alana cleared her throat. "Well, you did just drag me out of my home after asking me a bunch of strange questions and you threatened to kill me. How was

I supposed to look, like I'm on top of the world? Afraid of you, yes. Afraid of a weird feeling around you, no."

They were back in the military section of the palace, almost to Vader's palace. Vader kept glancing down as they walked at his daughter. She looked very much like Padme, almost exactly like Padme at her age. Before Vader could say something about her comeback, Tarkin stepped in their path.

With a gaunt and sour face, a man stood in front of Alana, looking at her like she was a pile of bird droppings. Alana just put a smile on her face with her head cocked to the side and gripped her hands behind back, her stance giving out polite inquiry.

Vader inwardly shook his head at Tarkin before nearly bursting out laughing at his daughter. That was the second time in three days that she manage to accomplish such a feat. This was completely out of character for him. Deciding to deal with it later, he growled, "What is it, Tarkin?"

Frowning, the man replied, "We had a meeting scheduled and you…"

"I was meeting with the Emperor, Tarkin. Do you have a problem with that?" interrupted Vader.

Tarkin scoffed. "Don't try to incriminate me, Vader. Common curtsey is that you inform if you can't make a meeting."

"Am I common, Tarkin?"

During the entire exchange, Alana's head flew back and forth, watching the men. Tarkin, tired of her doing so, growled, "Don't you have something else to do, girl?"

Alana blinked. "Actually, no," she smiled. "I was just enjoying a nice chat with my father."

Flabbergasted, Tarkin retorted, "Your father is no where in sight, child. Leave!"

Before Vader could say anything, Alana let go of her control and talked back. "Really? Well, here's an APB. He's tall, wears all black and a cape, and wears a skull-like mask. Meet the description of anyone you know?"

Tarkin's eyes flew from Alana to Vader and back again. Vader growled, "Does it?"

Tarkin huffed. "I will speak to you, Vader." And he stomped off.

As they started walking again, Vader questioned, "APB?"

Alana guffawed. "All points bulletin. A description of something that the Police send out when they want to find that thing."

The silence returned, but now Alana had a smile plastered on her face. She didn't know who this Tarkin guy was, but he made her laugh.

* * *

"That was… impressive."

Alana's head shot up. What? Only a few feet in front of them, Alana saw the Emperor standing and leaning on a cane.

Walking up to her, the Emperor placed his hand on her shoulder. Alana slightly leaned away, wary. She saw him smile under his hood before he moved on to pat Vader's arm? The man continued into Vader's quarters and her father motioned to go along. Alana followed them into the room.

Taking a seat on the sofa, the Emperor lowered his hood and smiled at Alana again. Turning his gaze on Vader, he commented, "She much like both of you, son."

If at all possible, Alana grew even more confused.

With a rough laugh, the Emperor asked her, "Child, you have no idea of what you are a part of, do you?"

Shifting to her other foot, Alana quietly replied, "No, I don't. Would you be able to inform me?"

The older man shook his head with a louder laugh. "More like you two than I thought. Young one, you are part of the greatest Sith dynasty ever to exist in the history of Galaxy."

Alana's brow furrowed further. "What does that mean?"

Vader placed his hand on her shoulder. "It means that you are my child and my heir, but I am his."

Alana's eyes widened as she realized what they meant. "Is… You're my grandfather?"

"Yes, child."

Alana decided to completely ignore her feelings and ran forward, wrapping her arms around the man. He started, but laughed, patting her on the back. "I'm glad to meet you as well, child."

* * *

Alana's hands smoothed over the silky sheets on the bed in her new room. Smiling at the soft pinks and blues of the bedspread, she turned to the large window that looked over the central part of the planet-wide city. "Incredible," she whispered, watching the pinks and oranges of the sky slowly shift as the sun sank behind her.

"Are you pleased?" asked her grandfather, a smile on his lips.

Alana laughed lightly. "Better than I could ever have dreamed. It's almost too much."

"And what, my dear, would have made it too much?"

Alana scanned the room shaking her head slightly. All the furniture was obviously extremely expensive; at least, it would be on Earth and the sheets on the bed felt like satin. "Probably if the walls were like the ones I saw near the throne room, but I changed my mind. This is too much."

"It may seem so to you, Alana, but even that would be a little common for the daughter of a high government official."

Alana crossed her arms and glanced out the window, certain that the sun was below the horizon now. "Well, then I'm glad, because this is already overwhelming. I can't imagine a room more… lavish than that. I mean, by the way you're talking about all this, I could probably feed every hungry person on my planet!"

Palpatine laughed now. "Did your father tell you that you are very like your mother?"

Alana's smile fell a little. "Yeah, he did. I wish I could have met her."

"You need only to see yourself in the mirror, child, for her looks. You are nearly a clone of her except for your eyes. Her eyes were brown. To replicate the rest of her, well, you have many of her mannerisms and only time will show how much else you are like her."

Alana picked up her bag and unzipped it, putting its contents on the bed.

"What are those?"

Alana glanced at the slippers in her hand. "Pointe shoes." She bent over, slipping off her flats, and pulled them on, quickly tying the ribbons. She took a few steps to the end of the bed so her grandfather could see her feet and went up onto pointe. Thinking of the Waltz of the Sugarplum Fairy, Alana danced the first few steps of it, humming the music. Glancing at her grandfather, she nearly burst out giggling at the expression on his face.

"That was… interesting."

This time Alana did burst out laughing. "It's called Classical Ballet. I only started going en pointe when I was twelve. It's one of my favorite things. I'm glad you enjoyed it." At that, Alana could help but laugh a little more.

"We have ballet but nothing like that, child. That was very good."

Alana grinned. "Nah, I made at least five mistakes. I'm no where as good as any professional ballet dancer and most likely anyone who will join a company."

Setting her things where they would reside, Alana found the very large closet and hung up the few clothes that she had.

Frowning, Palpatine spoke. "We will have to rectify this."

Alana sighed. "I suppose." Then, thinking of the over the top outfits of the main palace, she asked, "Would it be okay if I got my clothes from Earth? If that's possible, I mean."

"Why would you want that?"

"I'm used to the styles and everything I've seen here is a tiny bit crazy to me."'

He laughed. "Child, the clothes will be custom-made and I doubt my son would have any problem with your clothes being very sedate. Don't worry about it."

Alana smiled. She still thought what was she getting herself into, but it was no longer a nightmare type situation. She had a family.

* * *

**Please Review! You know you want too! Make my day! And may the Force be with you always!**


	8. Force

**Hello Everyone!**

**Another slightly shorter than usual chapter, but it's needed and I had 'finals' in an AP class. I'll probably kill off any male readership I have with chapter. Oh well. :)**

**Also, I have a new fic up called A Jump into the Void. Check it out!**

**Enjoy!**

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**Lady Arwen Prime: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.**

**Kyra Nightsong: Anakin's mother is still Shmi and Padme's is still Jobal. I'll get to the AU back story in a few. Vader still rolling, not quite up to the task yet.**

* * *

Chapter Eight

Force

Vader's head shot up as a soft thump sounded from Alana's room. A slightly muffled, "I'm alright!" was shouted out. He shook his head before returning his gaze to the papers on the desk. Alana tiptoed out of her room, past him, and into the kitchen to grab some water.

"What was that?"

Alana stopped in the middle of the room, a cup clutched in her hands. "Um, nothing?"

Alana was sure that is her father's face was showing, his eyebrows would be in his hair. "I asked for an answer, not a question."

She didn't want to admit it but "I lost my balance doing those turns I showed you."

Vader watched her face turn a peculiar shade of pink. "I see."

"Well, I'll just, um, try to be quieter." She slowly backed off.

Alana shut her door or rather; she hit a button that shut her door. Tech. Never something she was interested in. She always preferred a paper book to an e-reader or a book to a movie. The only thing technology she ever liked was planes, actually, anything that flew. That was the only reason that she ever for a second contemplated going to a military academy, but still, no. Slowly, Alana was getting used to the technology here. Holos and droids freaked her out when they appeared suddenly, though droids were pretty neat, in her opinion.

She shook her head and restarted the sequence of steps that she was consistently failing. What was really giving her trouble was the triple pirouettes and she and no one to go over it with her. Sighing, Alana sank down into a split and pulled her pointes off, stretching out her muscles slowly. She heard from her grandfather that school started soon here. Schoolwork would be great, especially learning a ton of new, or rather very old, history, her favorite subject.

She reached for her glass of water, but it was a few inches beyond her grasp. Stretching to grab it, Alana was about to give up when it slid into her hand! Startled, she put it down and tried to recreate the feeling that she had at that moment. Again, the glass slid into her hand! On the side table next to her bed there were a few bobby pins. Alana tried again, focusing on one of the tiny black pins. It slowly slid towards her and to her shock; it floated the rest of the way to her hand! Frowning, she tried to push it up back into the air, smiling when she succeeded. This must be the Force thing her father mentioned. Slowly standing up, Alana palmed open the door and walked into the main room.

Vader looked up when he heard Alana's door open again, and proceed to stare at her hand like it was possessed. Alana walked over to him, floating the pin in a small circle. "Is this the Force thing you talked about?"

Vader took the bobby pin from her. "That is only a small portion of the power of the Force, Daughter. If you are trained, it will only be small part of your abilities and with it, you can lift, push, or pull anything. The power of the Force is unlimited."

Alana was wary. "Sounds interesting," she answered diplomatically.

Vader gestured to a commlink sitting on the other end of his desk. "Call that to you."

Alana reached out like she did before, but dropped it when he called out, "No!"

"No? But I was doing it!"

"You were using the weaker side of the Force, the Light side. Reach into your anger and hate and you will use the stronger side of the Force, the Dark side. This is your first lesson. If you complete it, someday you will be a Dark Lady of the Sith."

Anger? Hate? "What would I be if I used the Light side?"

He growled. "A weak, pathetic Jedi. You would never be able to grasp the true power of the Force."

"Do you mind if I think about this?"

Confused, he asked, "Why?"

Alana took a deep breath. "Because I've been brought up to see anger and hate as feelings to be avoided not used. I need to think about it."

With a short nod, he returned his gaze to the papers in front of him.

Alana shut the door to her room behind her for the second time and slid down with her back against it. What was that? Anger and hate being the right path? Something smelt very fishy around here. Alana grinned a bit at that thought. Getting up and pulling out her Bible, she scanned through it, pausing and reading verses that caught her eye. Alana flopped back on the bed with a groan. There wasn't a chance that that was right. Either she would be a pathetic Jedi or she'd be nothing. With a smile, she whispered, "Thy will be done." No problem at all.

* * *

A little while later, Vader strode in, looking, if possible, very annoyed. "There is a matter that I must take care of. I will not be back for several days." With that he turned his heel and strode back out.

"Wait!" she cried. Vader turned to her. "Who am I suppose to call if I need something?"

"Your grandfather. I must go n, OOF!" Alana burrowed into him.

With a suddenly shy smile, she said, "Stay safe, Father. I… I love you." After his talk about anger and hate, Alana wasn't so sure how he would take that.

He rested his hand on her shoulder for a moment before replying, "You too, Daughter." Patting her once, he turned, cloak fluttering at his heels, waved open the door, and was gone.

Alana sank against the wall. That was sudden. At least she wouldn't have to have _that_ conversation yet. Yet was the key word.

* * *

About an hour later, Lt. Aylin came through the door. Alana smiled. "S'up?"

Erran looked like someone smacked him. "I… excuse me?"

She giggled. "Sorry, Erran. I couldn't help myself. I take it you have that here?"

Erran shook his head is disbelief. "I… it was surprising to hear you speaking like smuggler."

She stood up. "Good to know. As I was saying, what are you doing here?"

He gave a slight bow. "I'm here to escort you to the Emperor, Milady."

Slipping her arm into his offered one, she said "Thank you, but Milady?"

"As Vader's daughter, your full name is Lady Alana Vader, thus anyone of lower rank must address you as Lady Alana or Lady Vader, unless they have the permission to do otherwise."

Alana pursed her lips to one side before smiling. "You of course have permission to call me Alana."

Dropping the very formal attitude for a second, he grinned. "Thanks, Alana."

She laughed. "You're welcome."

Instead of taking her to the throne room, Erran led her down several more halls until they reached a pair of very ornate and very heavy doors. "This is where I must take my leave, Milady." A man walked through the doors and waved Erran off.

"If you'll follow me, Milady." The man gestured to the doors before walking back the way he came. Alana followed him down a hall and into a large room that looked like it came out of Versailles. "Lady Alana Vader, Your Majesty." Alana curtsied.

Her grandfather smiled. "Lady Vader, this Hrill Kendri." The blue Alien with two tails sticking out of his head bowed. "He is one of our best tailors, designed my senate robes back in the day. He will be in charge of your wardrobe."

The man bowed again. "It is an honor, Milady."

Alana held out her hand, but was a bit surprised when he kissed it. Guess that was still in fashion here. "A pleasure, Mr. Kendri. If you don't mind me asking, what, " she waved her hand, "are you. I apologize. I grew up on one of the very few planets that only has humans, so I don't know."

He smiled. "Not a problem at all, Milady. I am a Twi'lek."

"Thank you."

He led her over to a table that had a holoprojector. Pushing a button, he turned it on, a sculptured dress like the ones that Alana saw before popped up. Noticing her expression, he asked, "It does not please you? It is a formal gown."

She blushed a bit. "It's very beautiful, a work of art even, but not something I consider wearing. On my planet…" Alana picked up what looked like colored pens and a piece of paper and quickly drew a few sketches of her favorite gowns from the red carpet. A pink strapless brocade gown, a simple white dress with a cape, a nude dress that looked like it was sprinkled with flowers, and a simple white strapless dress with a black sash were scattered across the page. "…these are formal gowns."

Kendri's forehead wrinkled. "They are so… simple."

Alana smiled. "Most formal gowns that I like are. If you need inspiration for formal gowns, please look at Earth's."

The Twi'lek's headtails twitched. "We must decide on one design now. Tomorrow is the Coruscant Awards. You are accompanying the Emperor, thus the need for haste."

Said Emperor spoke up. "Your equivalent is the Academy Awards."

Alana's light bulb lit. "Alright, thank you, Your Majesty. With these, any designs that come to mind, Mr. Kendri?"

A slight frown on his face, he leaned over the table and started sketching. A few minutes later, he gave her a sheet of paper. The dress was floor-length with tight, long sleeves, the neckline high, the bodice fitted above and a soft A-line skirt below. The silky fabric was a dark royal blue, almost black. The detail that took the dress from nice to jaw dropping was a blue shimmer that started lightly at the hips and completely covered the fabric at the floor, lending a ombre look. "It's perfect," Alana gasped, stunned.

Kendri grinned. "Good."

They went over different categories of clothes, casual dresses to formal court gowns. Soon enough, they had gone over every thinkable niche and Alana stepped into a machine that took every possible measurement. Bidding the Emperor and Alana farewell, Kendri and his assistants gathered up his tools and bowed out.

"Thank you," smiled Alana.

Her grandfather patted her shoulder. "You're welcome, Little One."

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